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AI image generator pricing explained: credits, tokens, plans and packs
AI image generators charge through subscriptions with a monthly allowance of credits or tokens, through GPU time, pay-as-you-go top-ups, one-time packs or ads. The headline price matters less than what one image costs with the model you'll use, whether unused credits expire, and how the free allowance works.
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The ways AI image generators charge
The tools we checked all use one of five models, and many mix two. Knowing which one a tool uses tells you what to check next.
- Subscription with an allowance. A monthly fee buys a pool of credits, tokens or “AI uses” that images draw from. This is the most common model among the tools we checked.
- Subscription measured in time. Midjourney sells GPU time rather than credits, so each image costs however long it takes to render. (source)
- Pay-as-you-go. Top-ups or a prepaid wallet charge per use, often alongside a subscription.
- One-time packs. You buy a set number of images or credits once. Some packs expire after a set time; ours don't.
- Free and ad-funded. No payment at all, with ads paying for the servers, as on Perchance. (source)
How each tool charges, side by side
Here is how each tool describes its own billing and free use, with a link to the page that says it. Prices change often, so treat the table as a map of how each tool charges rather than a price list.
Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.
| Tool | How you pay | Free use |
|---|---|---|
| AIPhoto-Generator | One-time image packs whose images don't expire, or a monthly plan where unused images roll overSource: pricing | 3 free images in total, with no sign-up; they don't resetSource: pricing |
| Leonardo AI | Monthly token subscriptions, with a rollover bank of up to three monthsSource: intercom.help | 150 fast tokens a day on the free plan; unused tokens don't carry overSource: leonardo.ai |
| Midjourney | Subscription measured in GPU time; Fast hours don't carry overSource: docs.midjourney.com | No free plan or trial on the website or in DiscordSource: docs.midjourney.com |
| DeepAI | Subscription with monthly allowances, plus a prepaid wallet for extra useSource: deepai.org | A free plan with limited HD images and editing, and ads; the limit isn't publishedSource: deepai.org |
| Perchance | Free to you; funded by ads on the generatorsSource: perchance.org | Free, with ads for logged-out users; a few requests at a time per userSource: perchance.org |
| Raphael AI | Monthly credit subscriptions, plus one-time credit packs valid for 6 monthsSource: raphael.app | A zero-credit model at 0.5K with no sign-up, in a short queue; free daily credits when you sign inSource: raphael.app |
| Ideogram | Monthly plan credits that don't roll over, plus bought credits at 1¢ each that last 365 daysSource: docs.ideogram.ai | 30 credits a week for Google, Apple or Microsoft sign-ins; email sign-ups get noneSource: docs.ideogram.ai |
| Adobe Firefly | Subscription with monthly credits that reset and don't roll overSource: adobe.com | A limited number of free generations a day; the number isn't publishedSource: helpx.adobe.com |
| Canva | Subscription with a monthly AI allowance rather than numbered creditsSource: canva.com | Up to 20 AI uses a month on Canva Free, shared across AI toolsSource: canva.com |
| Craiyon | Monthly or yearly subscription; monthly edit credits don't roll overSource: craiyon.com | A limited number of free images with a watermark; the quota isn't publishedSource: craiyon.com |
| NightCafe | Credits from a subscription or packs; bought Fast Credits don't expireSource: help.nightcafe.studio | 5 free credits a day, plus unlimited base Stable Diffusion imagesSource: creator.nightcafe.studio |
Facts about each tool come from its own public pages, last checked . Tool names are trademarks of their owners; we aren't affiliated with them.
Why credits aren't the same as images
In credit and token systems, one image rarely costs one credit. The price depends on the model, the size and sometimes the prompt, so the same allowance makes very different numbers of images.
- On Leonardo AI, a Nano Banana image costs 40 of the 150 tokens a free account gets each day. (source)
- On Adobe Firefly, one Firefly Image 5 generation uses 10 credits. (source)
- Canva says more complex prompts use more of its monthly AI allowance, so the number of uses varies. (source)
- On Midjourney, an HD prompt takes about 1.3 GPU minutes against about 0.8 for a standard one. (source)
Some plans advertise unlimited images, and what that covers differs by tool. Leonardo's unlimited relaxed generation covers selected models only, such as Lucid Origin and Phoenix (source); Ideogram's slower queue covers Ideogram models after paid credits run out (source); Midjourney's unlimited Relax mode is slower and only on its Standard, Pro and Mega plans (source); and Adobe Firefly's paid plans include unlimited standard image generations. (source)
What happens to what you don't use
Unused allowances can change what you really pay per image. Some expire every month, some roll over for a while, and some never expire.
- Adobe Firefly's plan credits reset each billing cycle and don't roll over. (source)
- Ideogram's monthly plan credits don't roll over (source), and credits you buy separately expire after 365 days. (source)
- Leonardo AI rolls unused paid tokens into a bank of up to three months' worth. (source)
- Midjourney's monthly Fast hours don't carry over (source), and extra hours you buy expire after 60 days. (source)
- Raphael AI's one-time credit packs are valid for six months. (source)
- NightCafe says Fast Credits you buy never expire. (source)
- On AIPhoto-Generator, images in a pack don't expire, and unused images on the monthly plan roll over; see pricing.
Work out your own price per image
Divide what you'd pay in a month by the number of images you'll actually keep using, not by the allowance on the box. If credits expire, count only the ones you'd really spend.
For a credit system, find what your usual model and size cost per image in the tool's pricing or help pages, then divide the allowance by that number. For a subscription, divide the monthly price by the images you made last month. For packs, divide the price by the images in the pack.
Our own plans work out like this:
- Starter:$5 for 100 images, about 5¢ per image
- Creator:$15 for 400 images, about 3.8¢ per image
- Pro:$9 a month for 300 images, about 3¢ per image
Before any of those, the first 3 images are free, which is enough to see whether the results suit you.
Before you pay
Five checks take a couple of minutes on any tool's pricing page and avoid most surprises.
- What does one image cost with the model and size you'll actually use?
- Does the free allowance reset daily, weekly or monthly, or is it a one-time trial?
- Do unused credits expire, roll over, or stay forever?
- Does the plan renew automatically, and can you get a refund?
- Does a cheaper plan change anything else, such as whether your images are public?
For the full list of things to compare beyond price, see how to choose an AI image generator.
Questions
Are credits the same as images?
Rarely. Most credit and token systems charge different amounts per image depending on the model and size, so check the cost of the model you'll use before comparing allowances.
Do unused AI image credits expire?
It depends on the tool: some reset monthly, some roll over for a limited time and some never expire. The section on unused credits above lists what each tool says.
Should I choose a subscription or a pack?
A subscription suits steady monthly use if its allowance doesn't expire before you use it. A pack suits occasional use, especially when its images or credits don't expire.
What does unlimited mean on AI image plans?
It differs by tool. On the plans we checked, unlimited covers only some models, plans or kinds of use: Leonardo and Ideogram offer it in a slower queue on selected models, Midjourney's slower Relax mode is only on its Standard, Pro and Mega plans, Adobe Firefly limits it to standard generations, and Craiyon's unlimited images still use credits for edits, upscales and videos. None of them means unlimited use of everything.
